PSARC 2007/519 svccfg restore

[Michael Shapiro]

> Michael Shapiro writes:
> > 4. Interfaces Imported
> > 
> >    SCF Archive XML DTD                  Committed
> 
> Is this case actually asserting that the DTD is Committed?

The DTD for SMF is already a committed interface, as per
the original SMF case.

> What happens when an archive produced with an older version of Solaris
> is restored on a newer version?  Won't some services have changed
> names, others deleted, and still other new ones have been created?

The purpose of the backup is to restore the repository to the same
state: it obviously has no effect on the rest of the system.
 
> It seems to me that correct operation of this feature depends on more
> than just the DTD itself.  It depends on the inventory of named
> services, but some of those actually represent implementation details
> of Solaris and not stable interfaces.

This command manipulates the repository: nothing else.  Consider this analogy:
I make a copy of /etc/apache2/httpd.conf.  If I restore that file by cp'ing
it back into place, or writing some script to install a particular set of
settings by copying that file into place, that either is a perfectly sane
and reasonable thing to do that achieves a desired result, or it is an
operation that causes a failure if (a) apache2 has been upgraded incompatibly,
or (b) my configuration file refers to say apache2 modules that don't exist
anymore on the system, or were never installed.  So whether this makes sense
to do or not depends on my intent, and the relationship between this action
and whatever else I'm doing (e.g. upgrade script, system-wide restore, etc.)

The existing smf archive command is the equivalent of saving a copy of the
file, the new command is the equivalent of restoring it.  Depending on what
else is going on, that either has meaning or it doesn't.  The new command
enables various useful activities that weren't previously possible.
But it isn't some kind of system-wide backup/restore facility.

-Mike

-- 
Mike Shapiro, Solaris Kernel Development. blogs.sun.com/mws/